The Old Woodward Reconstruction Project reached another completion milestone this week, June 18-23, with the transformation of Old Woodward now 75 percent complete!

Looking ahead to the week of June 25th, the following work is planned:

All the concrete street paving is anticipated to be completed by early next week.

Excavation of tree planters and replacement with organic soil mix will be finished on Maple Rd. as well as the north half of the project.

Concrete installation for planter boxes will begin both on Maple Rd. and on the north half of the project.

Outline - anticipated sidewalk work for week of June 25th

Weather permitting and barring unexpected developments, final sidewalk construction could begin before the end of the week of June 25th. This phase will be the period of the project that will have direct impact on the adjacent businesses. We are making plans to keep the time of work in front of each business as efficient in its execution and as least disruptive as possible.

One side of the street, one to two blocks long, will be worked on at one time. At the beginning of the work day, the contractor will close the current open sidewalk and direct pedestrians to the far side of the street.

On the first of the two day work cycle, the contractor will remove the remaining, existing sidewalk, form the base and pour new concrete. On the second day, joints will be cut in the new sidewalk using a concrete saw. In order to ensure the safety of the public, your employees and contractors, it will not be feasible to maintain public access to front doors during this 48 hourperiod. The walking conditions will be too dangerous while crews are carrying out this phase of work. Signs will be posted to direct customers to rear entrances of your building. Once the sidewalk has been cleaned, it will be opened to the public. The City recognizes that the sidewalk work will be disruptive to your businesses and buildings. The City appreciates your continued patience and cooperation as we work to complete this vital step in the reconstruction of Old Woodward.

It is anticipated that the sidewalk closures will begin first on Maple Rd. As noted, the work could begin late next week (week of June 25th). Building tenants will be individually notified in person the day before their segment is planned. Once the Maple Rd. sidewalk work is well underway, similar work will expand to the north half of the project, on Old Woodward, north of Maple.

Once the sidewalk has been poured and pedestrian traffic resumes in front of a building, we will be on the home stretch of the project. Remaining work will include landscaping, pavement markings, traffic signal and electrical system completion as well as resuming more normal traffic patterns on Maple Rd. and Brown St.

With a targeted completion date of early August, the underground infrastructure improvements and the above ground enhancements on Old Woodward will result in a modernized downtown core that City residents, merchants, stakeholders and visitors will be proud of and enjoy for decades to come. In the meantime, the public is encouraged to visit downtown and see the transformation first-hand while supporting city merchants. As a reminder, free parking in all City parking structures is now available on weekends (Saturday andSunday) along with four, two-hour free valet parking stands strategically located near the construction zone.